YouTube started as a simple video site, but today it’s much, much more.

YouTube is so much more than cute cats and mindless pranks; it’s where millions come for education, information, and live, late-breaking news. YouTube streams more than just Google keynotes; it streams important political debates and allows users to stream from almost anywhere in the world with an internet connection. It’s important to understand YouTube and how to use it, and whether you’re just looking to watch your videos without Autoplay plaguing you or you’re looking to turn your feed into a legitimate cord-cutter cornucopia of enticing entertainment, we’re here to help you get it done.

Finding your way around

First things first: let’s find where we find videos on YouTube and how we start curating our content so that YouTube’s algorithms can start working to bring us more of what we want. Want to get started with YouTube? Start here.

Managing YouTube

YouTube can run away with you (and your mobile data) if you don’t keep it in check. From managing what kinds of content can pop up in your results to what networks you use to stream in HD, these are settings you can use to keep YouTube manageable.

Managing your YouTube history

We all search for things we’d rather not fess up to. We stumble upon videos we wish we hadn’t seen. It’s okay, you don’t have to burn your digital identity — we just need to clean up our YouTube histories.

How to sign up for YouTube Premium

As great as YouTube is on its own, the app’s made even better when you sign up for YouTube Premium.

YouTube Premium gives you access to a heap of extra features, including the ability to download videos for offline viewing, not having to ever watch ads, access to all YouTube Originals content, and more. If you want to give the service a shot, it costs $ 11.99/month and signing up takes just a couple minutes.